Tiger's Title: Woods claims first Buick Open crown

Published 9:00 pm, Sunday, August 11, 2002

GRAND BLANC - Before becoming a golf professional, Esteban Toledo was a boxer with a 12-1 record. After going toe-to-toe with Tiger Woods for 12 holes on Sunday, Toledo got knocked out.

An errant back nine by Toledo gave Woods his first Buick Open title. Woods' 70 gave him a four-day total of 17-under-par 271.

"It was tough playing out there today," Woods said. "I hit the ball like it did yesterday, in spurts. I made a lot of big par putts and made a few birdie putts here and there."

It was the 33rd career victory for Woods, who becomes the first player in PGA Tour history to eclipse the $30 million mark in career earnings. It also gives him more momentum heading into this week's PGA Championship. Toledo, Mark O'Meara, Brian Gay, and Fred Funk finished tied for third at 13-under. Paul Azinger headed a group of players at 12-under along with last year's PGA champion David Toms.

"Esteban played well," Woods added. "He made a couple of mistakes at the end. But he fought hard all the way and he should be commended for that."

Woods has held the third-round lead 26 times in his PGA career. He's won 24 of those times. He started the day with a one-stroke lead over Toledo and through 12 holes, the lead was still one.

Then came the decisive holes. Woods birdied the par 5 13th while Toledo's greenside chip ended up in the water. His bogey gave the world's top-ranked player a three stroke lead.

On the 14th, Toledo - thanks to an errant drive, made another bogey and Woods' lead was four. Another bogey at 15 ended Toledo's hopes.

Even a late double-bogey on 17 by Woods couldn't get Toledo back in it.

"I gave him a good fight," Toledo said. "The hole that kind of changed everything was the par 5 which was 13. It was a lot of fun. I gained a lot of experience. He was playing great. He was making the putts he had to make and I didn't."

Starting the day with a one-shot lead, Woods immediately doubled his lead with a birdie on the par 5 first. The same hole that he took double-bogey on to start the third round on Saturday.

Toledo, however, responded with a birdie at four, and when Woods bogeyed the fifth hole, the duo were even at 15-under.

But Woods gained the upper hand again by rolling in a 25-foot birdie putt on the sixth. His lead grew to two strokes before Toledo birdied the 10th from six feet to trim the margin back to one.

"I'm happy the way I played," Toledo said. "But I came out here to win it and I didn't. Maybe I'll have another chance on another day."

Woods again responded with perhaps the shot of the day. His 7-iron on the 190-yard 11th ended up just eight inches from the cup.

"I hit a 7-iron right at the flag," Woods said. "My intent was to aim right at it and hit a holder. The wind is coming off the right. If I hit it straight, it was going to drift 15 or 20 feet. If I hold it, it should be the right club. I hit it perfectly flush."

Scoring was a bit higher on Sunday due to some swirling breezes. J.J. Henry, Stephen Ames and Jay Haas had the best rounds of the day with 67s. Haas recorded two eagles at the 12th and 14th holes.

Retief Goosen, who began the day eight shots behind Woods, crept to within three after a birdie on 16. But an errant iron to the 17th led to a double bogey and derailed his chances. He finished in a tie for 12th at 10-under-par.

"I hit a poor 7-iron on 17 and then I had two bad lies," Goosen said. "It's a bad finish but overall I'm looking forward to next week knowing that I'm hitting the ball a little better."

For Azinger, it was his first top-10 finish since the World Match Play Championships back in February.

"Heck, I'm happy," Azinger said. "It's been a while. I was off for five or six weeks because of my back. If I had taken advantage of the par 5s the first two weeks, I could have been right there. I also missed three or four pretty short putts starting out today."

Phil Mickelson, the No. 2 player in the world, finished at 9-under after a 71.

"Heading into this week I hadn't been playing all that well," Mickelson said. "I didn't play well last week at The International. So (this week) I wasn't trying to manage my game. I just wanted to hit a lot of good shots and I felt I did that. I made a lot of birdies. Next week, I'll have to manage my game a little better."